Jay Leno recalls how his ‘face caught on fire’ after suffering severe burns in car garage accident-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

Jay Leno has opened up on the moment he received a ‘faceful of gas’ during an incident at his car garage, resulting in him suffering severe burns.

Last month, it was reported that the TV host had been ‘seriously burned’ when one of the cars at his garage in Los Angeles ‘erupted into flames without warning’.

The 72-year-old was discharged from hospital after nine days, with his doctor saying in a statement: ‘I am pleased with Jay’s progress, and I am optimistic that he will make a full recovery.’

In his first interview since the incident, Jay recollected how a friend saved him by ‘smothering the fire’ on his face.

‘It was a 1907… a white steam car. The fuel line was clogged and I was underneath it trying to unclog [it],” he said while speaking to Hoda Kotb for US programme Today.

‘I said, “Blow some air through the line,” and then suddenly, boom, I got a faceful of gas. Then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire.’

Fortunately, Jay’s friend Dave was quick to take action (Photo by Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez/AFP)

Jay explained how he alerted his friend Dave to what was going on, who quickly sprung into action.

‘And I said to my friend, “Dave, I’m on fire,” and… oh my God, my friend Dave pulled me out and jumped on top of me and it kind of smothered the fire,’ he shared.

Jay’s passion for cars has been well-documented over the years, with the TV personality hosting a one-hour special called Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC, before airing as a primetime series since 2015.

The TV personality has a passion for cars (Picture: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

He recently made light of his injury, joking that his new face was ‘better than before’.

Writing in his Wall Street Journal column, he penned: ‘Anybody who works with their hands on a regular basis is going to have an accident at some point. If you play football, you get a concussion or a broken leg. Anything you do, there’s a risk factor.

‘Eight days later, I had a brand new face. And it’s better than what was there before.’

The former Tonight host added: ‘There’s nothing worse than whiny celebrities. If you joke about it, people laugh along with you.’

Following his release from hospital, Jay posed with several staff members for a photo while thanking them for the care they gave him, with the picture showing the burn scars on his face, neck and hand.

Today airs on NBC in the US.

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